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Circle of Mastery
Mastery, a dark county in old England hides many things RPG = Stories so far = * Lucian's Folly (1198 a.d.): Lawrence, a Ventrue scholar, arrives at Mastery and soon makes the acquaintance with Lucian of Helsford. Lucian introduces himself as Tremere who fears for his life and is unwilling to leave the sanctity of the ruins of St. Helsford. He asks Lawrence to help him in eliminating the nefarious Gangrel heretic who lives in the woodland and kills other kindred. Lawrence ventures into the woods and kills Mathrafal, a Gangrel druid. In doing so he unknowingly frees Guinnwell, Lord of Femor, a mighty demon posing as Tremere Lucian. * Murder of youth (1199 a.d.): A series of murders brings unrest to Mastery. The people of the county fear the revenge of the bloodthirsty demon Guinnwell so Lawrence sets out to investigate the murders in the south of Mastery. * From the jaws of Lions (1199 a.d.): King Richard of England sets out to his doomed expedition into France, while at the same time the ambitious Marcus Caelius from the clan Tremere sets out (or is set out) from Meerlinda's grim chantry of Lion's Gate at Durham to find his own place of power. Will Marcus Caelius quest be as doomed as King Richard's ? Marcus Caelius travels to Mastery via Hammerton and establishes himself as a travelling physician and "wise man" of astonishing qualities and strange sleeping patterns. He also manages to get himself deeply mixed up into the internal intrigues of Lion's Gate and cleverly plays off Leontia, the right of the fabled thaumaturg Astor, the Keeper of the Golden Seal, and Stryx, Lion's Gate powerful ambassador and spearhead of Goratrix on the British Isles... *'A noble gift (1199 a.d.):' Continuing his investigative journey (Murder of youth, 1199 a.d.) Lawrence sets out in his desperate attempt to undo the havoc he has unwillingly unleashed unto the county of Mastery by releasing the demon Guinwell and is consequently being pitched in the village of Solkirk against ancient forces and cunning from beyond this world. Supported by the Fey Summerqueen, he is able to counter the machinations of the later's eternal rival, the Fey Winterqueen, her dreadful legionnaire Guinnwell and a pawn of these dark forces, the youngling Celine Sandford, a girl gone were-beast on a rampage against other beautiful girls. Returning laden with Dignitas, the gratefulness of the Sandford-Clan, three of the beautiful Sandford-daughters in tow and Weird Ol' Andrew, the wiseman of Solkirk as an at least temporary ally/contact, Lawrence must now face both the burdens of being a temporary vassal and paladin of a fickle fey creature of enormous power and the eternal enmity of the powerful Winterqueen. *'A home and castle (1199 a.d.):' Meanwhile, Marcus Caelius tries to set himself up in Mastery and finds out that young ambitions and old desires seldom mingle for good ... = Dramatis personae = From a mundane perspective * Geoffrey, Archbishop of York: Geoffrey is King Richard and Prince John's bastard uncle (i.e. the bastard son of Richard and John's father, King Henry II). He is proud, vain and constantly at odds with his royal nephews and his own clergy. He expects instant obedience from everyone and is accordingly constantly enraged when faced with the relevation that the sun and the moon refuse to set according to his whimps. In short, he is pain in the ass for everyone around, high and low-born. * Sir James Gilford, Lord of Mastery: Sir James Gilford is a Norman vassal of the Archbishop of York and wealthy knight. He is directly descended from King William I's sword bearer, Jean de Gilforde.A burly man in his late forties,he is respected by his peers and obeyed by his people. He has seven children. * Lady Eleanore Gilford, Lady of Mastery: Sir James Gilford's second wife for almost 20 years, the sole child of a local wealth knigth is a devout wife to her husband. Although of a sickly disposition, she runs daily business at the Gilford-estates and is a trusted councillor of her husband. * Sir Gerald/Gerold Gilford, Heir-Apparent of Mastery: Gerald is Sir James Gilford's first born son from Sir James Gilfords first wife. He is a powerfully built knight in his 20ies with a fearsome reputation as a brutal and efficient warriour and jouster. He accompanied King Richard on his ill-fated crusade, but left earlier and - contrary to his King - returned to England with riches (bounty from plundered cities in Cyprus) and glory. He and his father are currently looking around to secure a good marriage for him. * Weird Ol' Andrew: Weird Ol'Andrew is the local wise-man of Solkirk, knowledgeable in the Old ("Pagan") ways and a respected, if somewhat feared healer. He is an old, haggard man in good health, emotional and since recent events ("A noble gift") highly esteemed and revered in Solkirk. * Jeffrey Le Pens: Chaplain of Sir James Gilford is a knowledgeable learned and tolerant man, the chief priest in Mastery and a confident of Sir James Gilford. He is very learned, having studied with wise masters both in York and in France. He is extremely curious and tolerant as well as extremely fond of wine. From a mythic perspective County of Mastery The High Clans * Lawrence de Penly (Clan Ventrue) * Prince John of York (Clan Ventrue) * Father Benedictus (Clan Cappadocian) * Sigfrid Redmace (Clan Brujah, Servant of Eyolf Ivarrson, Warlord of the Fief of York) The Low Clans * Lyonnesse (Clan Gangrel) * Marcus Caelius (Clan Tremere) Minions of Hell * Guinnwell, Lord of Femor, Bringer of Dissent (Demon) County of Durham The Low Clans * Stryx (Clan Tremere) * Leontia (Clan Tremere) Barony of York * Eyolf Ivarrson (Clan Gangrel, 9th, Warlord of the Fief of York) * Sigfrid Redmace (Clan Brujah, Servant of Eyolf Ivarrson) = Mastery = Mastery is prosperous market town, a little bit isolated, in a wooded area in the south of Yorkshire, about 3 to 4 days travel to York. It lies at a ford, where the trading route from the south (from Sheffield and Lincoln) crosses the river Aire to run to the north to York. Its human population numbers about 500 hundred, all huddled together in the protection of a wooden palisade. Mastery is graced with the big St.Gilmore church in Romanesque style (the largest stone building in the honour), the main manor of the Gilford family (a large wood structure on stone monuments and a solid but small donjon) and the large stone warehouse-cum-family residence of the Lundquist trading family. In addition, Mastery sports two large (and fiercely competing) inns, a second (wooden) church (St.Mary) tendered by Albert, one of Jeffrey Le Pens' vicars, a just, principled and relatively dumb man. Most prominent peasants of the beautiful town of Mastery are the Lundquists, a Dutch family offshoot of a huge trader clan, and Chaplain Jeffrey Le Pens, an ambitious but good hearted cleric who is head of the St. Gilmore church and therefore spiritual leader of all of the county of Mastery. Mastery is also the county surrounding this little town and it is seat of a prosperous honour, making its lord, Sir James Gilford, a prominent knight with considerable influence in the local gentry. Sir James Gilford is a vassal of the Archbishop of York, an archbishoprice traditionally manned by hard-nosed and independent men who often clash with the will of the king and therefore grant their vassals considerable freedoms to ensure their loyalty. While Mastery is the main dwelling of the honour, the honour of Mastery contains several other smaller villages of at most 200 inhabitants. Prominent among those is Solkirk, the village clustered around the manor of the Sandford family, a prominent clan of free landowners in the north of Mastery county. The head of this family is Owen Sandford, an honest and godfearing man, who donates every now and then to the church. The southeast is owned at large by the head of the other free landowner clan who goes by the name of Mark of Wellow. Mark of Wellow is a giant of a man and is said to have Scotish forefathers. He is revered by his men and quite influental from Mastery to York. The seat of the Wellow clan is the big village of Hammerton. About two hours ride form Hammerton is the secluded St.Jacob monastery of Order of St. Jacob, an offspring of the Cistertians. Its monks are famous for being real recluses and for being home to the best healers in the entire county of York. = History = * '' 1099: With Tremere's corruption at last revealed House Tremere is being cast out and becomes subject to a wide wizard's march. This event marks the official beginning of the Massassa War where Ex-House Tremere and Order of Hermes fight and undermine each other for half an eternity.'' * 1190: great progome in London, York, Bristol and other major cities against the jewish community. * 1194: King Richard returning home from the crusade is captured by his personal ennemy, Duke Henry of Babenberg, Duke of Austria and Styria and staunch ally of Emperor Henry VI of Germany of Hohenstauffen. The Hohenstauffen are engaged in civil war with another prominent German family, the Guelphs (Welfen), the Dukes of Saxony (roughly speaking). While England sides with the Guelphs, France supports the Hohenstauffen. Henry VI and Henry of Babenberg force Richard to pay an enormous randsom for his freedom. The financing of the randsom essentially bankrupts the English crown and severely weakens its power. After being set free, Richard returns shortly to England, crushes a futile revolt by his brother John, appoints a Chancellor to rule (and to tax) England and goes over to Western France to fight his vassals and the French king over provinces in Western and Northern France. * 1199: King Richard Lionheart of England dies in France in an obscure skirmish against a rebellious minor vassal by a cross-bow bolt. His sole surviving brother, John "Lack-Land" seizes the throne. Arthur, the adolsecent son of the oldest (predeceased) brother of Richard and John's nephew, lays claim to the crown of England. * 1199 - 1202: Civil war ensures. John quickly gains control of England, while Arthur and his allies fortify their position in Brittany. Using the internal distraction, the French attack English holding on the continent en masse and conquer vast territories in Normandy. Finally John manages to get hold of Arthur, who vanishes without leaving a trace or a body. To reorganise his power, John launches a massive campaign of retaliation against the allies of Arthur. * 1202 - 1204: Most of his French vassals desert King John, France overruns Normandy and Brittany and force John to evacute France and to return to England. As a side-note, Constantinople is taken and plundered by the 4th Crusade. * 1204 - 1214: English Vassals rebel against John as do Welsh Chieftains. John crushes the rebellions brutally and desperately tries to raise the monies to finance the mercenary armies necessary for recapturing his lost French territories. He rules harshly and relies on a close circle of personal and trusted friends and allies, some of which stem (to the horror and disgust of the great magnates) from villain stock. He involves himself heavily into the affairs of the Church (mostly for tax purposes and with an eye to instal his cronies/supporters in powerful positions), thereby raising the ire of Pope Innocence III, who finally excommunicates John and places the entirety of England under verdict. Category:en